Taking the High Ground With Kindness

After I finished my blog and posted it about “watching our words on the battlefield”, yesterday, I read this daily email from a ministry. It was the “icing on the cake” of what I had said in my blog: “I call you, My people, to be kind to one another. The world is filled with selfishness and hatred. But you belong to Me and not to the world. When you become one with Me, your attitudes will reflect My heart and not yours. And the fruit of My Spirit will be evident in all that you are and all that you do, says the Lord." "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, KINDNESS, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such, there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23

Those words pack a punch, don’t they? I reeled them in my heart --.hopefully to stay there, germinate and then produce a bumper crop of those fruit – especially the “kindness” fruit. Yep! That’s a fruit I needed a couple of days ago – before my blog, yesterday. From hearing way too much irritating smack talk that I “shushed” that person with fingers to my mouth. To someone else, I really wanted to retaliate (but didn’t) when they opposed my way-of-thinking. And to another, I even let casual words slip out that “stung” them enough to end a conversation. Holy kindness, Lord, I pray!

What in the world? I’m that on-purpose gal who does her best to never get my “panties in a wad”, but that day I did. Eventually, I realized the enemy was setting me up for a crummy day. Those are his tactics – it’s not just one little incident, but incidents -- multiplied. But, he is such a loser that he doesn’t get that those of us who are the blood-bought, filled-with-the-Holy Spirit, strivers to improve our love-walk daily – recognize him. We take that nonsense long enough and, in my case, I turn it into a blog that teaches a better way – God's way of handling opposition. You messed with the wrong girl, devil!

I love this quote Joyce Meyer says about herself: “Each morning, before getting out of bed, I pray that I will love and be kind to everyone today. But, then I get up and encounter people!” That hits home. I live by myself so, really, I should be okay, but then again, I know myself enough that I need to stay on guard for myself to keep ME out of trouble!

If anyone should speak on behalf of staying in tune with the Holy Spirit, it’s the Apostle Paul. He wrote these words: “Ask God to bless those who persecute you — yes, ask Him to bless, not to curse”. (Romans 12:14). We all have people in our lives that require extra grace from us. They annoy, anger, frustrate, and test us. But they also help us grow. God calls us to demonstrate mercy and kindness to everyone -- even those who cause us the most trouble. And being Spirit-led people who have the fruit of the Spirit in us, we just get "kindness" out of the fruit basket and refuse to be offended. Most of all we purpose to always take the higher ground. Proof positive of being fruit bearers!

When we take the high ground, we can see past the behavior of others. When we take the high ground, we rise above the irritation and the conflict and choose to live in peace and to be loving and kind fruit bearers.

Ronald Reagan said it well: "Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly, leave the rest to God."

How Does How Does YOUR Garden Grow -- With Pretty Flowers or Pesky Weeds?

After a week away from home, I was overwhelmed when I saw the weeds that had popped up in my flower beds in such a short period of time. Whew! Dear God, why did you create weeds to grow so well and oftentimes grow so much healthier and stronger than the beautiful flowers and plants that have difficulty growing?

I remember reading a friend’s post when she asked for advice for getting rid of weeds in her garden. Some of the comments and recommendations from others were: “Put newspaper around the plant – it will suffocate the weeds”; “Put grass clippings around the plant”; and I loved this one “Don’t plant a garden!” LOL!

Those garden weeds caused me to think about the weeds that may have grown in our heart’s garden – weeds of selfishness, pride, self-centeredness, laziness, bitterness, anger, envy, doubt, unbelief, sadness, fear, etc. I don’t know about you, but I recognize those weeds that creep into my heart’s garden when I haven’t watered my heart with prayer enough or focused enough on God’s “Light” (His Word).

As soon as I sense THOSE heart weeds, I get out my “weed eater/annihilator” out and I:
1) First, cultivate the soil and add a good mixture of fertilizer (prayer).
2) Plant the seeds of God’s Word (Bible reading, meditating and speaking the words) into my heart.
3) Give the plants (my heart) plenty of sunshine (speaking the light of God’s Word over the situations that may be troubling or concerning me)
4) Give the plants plenty of water (thanking, praising, trusting in God’s goodness and mercy to complete what He started).

It was a beautiful, cooler and rainy morning here in Frisco yesterday. I made up my mind that as soon as the rain would stop, I’d go out, while the soil was wet, to easily pull the weeds out of my flower beds and herb garden. I did. No doubt, those little weeds will show up again one day soon, but, no problem – I’ll be the weed eradicator once again. And in the same way, I’ll keep monitoring my “heart” garden and I’ll make sure it is “weed” free so that an abundant harvest of sweet and beautiful fruit shows up daily. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.......” Galatians 5:22,23

St. Paul said it so well. Once we plant the seed…..God will make it grow! "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow." I Corinthians 3:6,7. God is the Master Gardener, and what He plants, always yields a great harvest!